Sunday, April 29, 2012

A beautiful bouquet of flowers may be one of the healthiest
gifts you can give -- and I'm not talking calories.

Flowers and plants
have been used for centuries to provide us with food, clothing, shelter,
medicine and oxygen, as well as to express our emotions ranging from love and
support to grief. But now, research is adding up that suggests flowers and
plants are closely linked to our well-being, and here's just a few reasons why:

We communicate better in the presence of flowers or plants,
and tend to eat food more slowly when flowers are on the table.

Flowers restore us from mental fatigue and enhance our self-esteem.

Certain types of potted plants, as well as the growing mix used with these
plants, remove some pollutants from a room's atmosphere. ﻿

Placing plants and flowers in a room significantly increases humidity, which reduces some of the effects of dry air such as common colds.

So this week, why not do something healthy - indulge in some
flowers and plants!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Boronias are grown in a rainbow of colors ranging from: hot pink to purple, brown, green, yellow and white and have interesting names like: ‘Purple Jared’ (brilliant purple flowers), ‘Aussie Rose’ (rose pink flowers) and ‘Lipstick’ (lollypop pink flowers). A genus of some 95 Australian species named in honor of Francesco Borone, an Italian plant collector.

This fabulous filler flower has tiny, wiry stems and green needle-like leaves. In early Spring lovely bell-shaped flowers with four petals begin to form and bloom. Boronias are generally long-lasting as cut flowers, and cutting the flower stems benefits the plants, as they need pruning back after blooming to prolong life and improve bushiness.

Renowned for its sweet fragrance and aromatic foliage, especially Boronia Megastigma (with bells of brown). The flowers of B. Megastigma are often collected for flavor and fragrance use. Unfortunately, they are difficult to propagate and grow in cultivation.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

When it comes to pollinating, most flowers employ mobile agents like the hummingbird to transfer pollen from bloom to bloom. Plants do not produce showy flowers simply to delight humans - they expend the huge amounts of energy required in their production only to attract pollinators. Hummingbirds not only use flowers as a food source but also as a mating site, where many flowering species present a fun and playful environment.

The mutual desires of flowering plants and the birds which are their pollinators, argues strongly for the preservation not only of individual species but of whole, healthily functioning ecosystems.